An advertisement went out last week for the position of national selector to the England men’s teams, a post recently vacated by Luke Wright for personal reasons. One line in the job description stood out: “You will play a key role in ensuring quality communication between the England cricket team and first-class counties.”
There’s certainly work to be done on that front. Relations between the counties and the England management — led by the head coach Brendon McCullum and managing director Rob Key, both of whom, rather against the odds, survived the ECB’s Ashes review — are commonly viewed as dire.
This is unsurprising, given how disparaging McCullum and Key have been of the county game. Both men are under pressure from their bosses — conscious of public hostility to the winter’s debacle — to recalibrate their methods, but if they did not value county cricket before it is hard to see how they can pretend it is the path to redemption now.
England are seeking a new national selector to replace Wright, left, while McCullum will stay in his role as head coachAlamy
Some are not even sure a demand to patch things up is practicable. “They [the ECB] are reacting to outside noise and that’s not a good place to be,” one observer said. “McCullum can only change 5 or 10 per cent, or he’s not going to be true to himself.”
Key and Ed Barney, the ECB performance director, have arranged a meeting with the county directors of cricket next week, and it should be a lively affair. After the strategic shambles in Australia, the counties might reasonably ask Key what his selection philosophy now is, and exactly what type of players he would like them to provide, since some cricketers he had spent two years backing for the Ashes (such as Shoaib Bashir and Mark Wood) were effectively no-shows, largely as a result of botched preparation. Barney, a former professional sailor, will be keen on pushing better standards of fitness.
Even the timing of the meeting has not gone down well, as it is slated for two days before the start of the County Championship season when most counties will be holding final training sessions. As one county official said: “They wouldn’t arrange it two days before the start of an Ashes series, would they?”
Both Key and McCullum have been disparaging about the county gamePhilip Brown/Getty Images
“The disconnect is as bad as I’ve ever known it in my time being involved in county cricket,” said Paul Farbrace, Sussex’s director of cricket and an England assistant coach to Peter Moores and Trevor Bayliss from 2014 to 2019. “We know that McCullum is not bothered about county cricket, he’s got no interest.
“When he and Stokesy [Ben Stokes] say things about picking a player because they watched him bowl on a social media clip, it undermines what you are trying to do. Ultimately, every player England pick comes from county cricket and every player is developed by the counties, not the ECB.
“There are so many players in county cricket who say, ‘It doesn’t matter how many runs I score, how many wickets I take, if I’m not McCullum’s sort of a bloke then I’m not going to fit in.’ I admire the fact they are loyal to their players but they need to be more open about giving other people opportunities.”
Farbrace, the Sussex director of cricket, says the disconnect between the national set-up and counties “is as bad as I’ve ever known it” Mike Hewitt/Getty Images
At Surrey’s media day on Tuesday, their head coach Gareth Batty described the path between county cricket and the England team as having become “misted over”. Steve Harmison, a former England fast bowler and a potential candidate for the national selector post, put it more bluntly during the winter when he said that the England management “looked down on county cricket like it’s something on the bottom of their shoe”.
At least if Harmison or Darren Gough, another contender, took on the selector role they might promote the idea that the way to get fit for bowling is to bowl. This was one of the main criticisms of the Ashes campaign, with Wood, Jofra Archer and Gus Atkinson all breaking down having played little or no red-ball cricket in the build-up.
It is expected that England-contracted players who are not away at the Indian Premier League will play more championship cricket than in recent seasons between now and the first Test of the summer, starting on June 4 against New Zealand, with Stokes preparing to play several games for Durham.
The fact that players such as Wood had played little red-ball cricket before the Ashes hurt England in Australia Philip Brown/Getty Images
If that is the case, then their involvement must also carry some jeopardy: if they don’t perform, they should be at risk of forfeiting their England place. Having failed so often to rise to pressure moments in the Test arena, they may at least do everyone a favour and respond to the glint of the selectors’ axe when playing for their counties.
Allowances should be made for county cricket not always replicating the international stage, but nonetheless historical evidence clearly shows that few players substantially outperform their first-class records at Test level. If Zak Crawley averages 32.79 for Kent, no one should be surprised that his return in Test matches (31.18) is little different. Of all the Test regulars, Crawley’s place looks most precarious.
Rightly or wrongly, there is an expectation around the counties that England will modify their approach to selection after losing 4-1 in Australia last winter and India two years ago.
“Having been through what the England team has been through in the last couple of years, maybe there’s a view that having some balance within the batting order, where you’ve got aggressive players alongside batters who are able to see through difficult spells, might be seen as a positive now,” Hampshire’s director of cricket, Giles White, said. “I could see that being a view from management if they reflect on the winter.”
What is beyond question is that the downturn in England’s Test results has prompted few tears around the counties.
“Ultimately they [England’s management] are going to be judged on results, and at the moment the results in Test match cricket are not good enough,” Farbrace added. “I don’t see England improving as a team or improving players individually. Ben Duckett is the only batter who has really improved in the past three years.
Crawley’s average of 32.79 for Kent reflects his return on the Test stageKyle Andrews/Alamy
“There’s an awful lot of shoehorning people in… bits-and-pieces players making up the team. That hasn’t worked for them in the big series.
“If you haven’t got a great link with county cricket, it’s no surprise you’re not going to get sympathy from county cricketers and clubs. There’s an element of arrogance about the England set-up which has pissed off those of us in county cricket.”
McCullum’s error may have been to not engage more with county cricket, even if he doubts its capacity to hone top talent. Like it or not, it is the breeding ground of future international players. Bayliss was not a great student, or admirer, of the county game but he invited county coaches to England training days before home matches to get to know them and exchange ideas.
Harmison, a contender for the national selector job, previously accused the national management of “looking down” on the county gameGareth Copley/Getty Images
“We never want to knock county cricket,” Alec Stewart, Surrey’s director of cricket, said. “It should be supported and respected. It’s the breeding ground of future internationals. We produce excellent pitches here at the Oval and on excellent pitches you produce excellent cricketers. The players value it and want to win the championship above all.”
Surrey’s lines of communication with England are good, and Farbrace and White both stressed that England’s messaging had been excellent over the management of their fast bowlers — Archer at Sussex, and Sonny Baker and Eddie Jack at Hampshire.
Farbrace also conceded that if the county game wanted to be held in higher regard by England then it had to put its house in better order. “We’ve got to play on much better pitches and find a schedule that gives our players the best chance of being successful,” he said.